Indusind Bank Ltd. v. Riyaz Ahmed Shah
Case brief
What is this about?
Unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator; arbitral awards set aside; execution applications and chamber summons dismissed; Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. vs. Airports Authority of India, 2026 SCC Online SC 7, relied on — ineligibility raisable at any stage even in execution; fresh arbitration permitted; limitation exclusion from invocation till date of order; proviso to Section 12(5), Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 — express written waiver of ineligibility or right to object; Bombay High Court, Abhay Ahuja, J.; batch Serial Nos. 902–1151; Prothonotary & Senior Master finding.
What did the court decide?
The respective arbitral awards stand set aside on account of the unilateral appointment of the sole arbitrator; the Commercial Execution Applications / Execution Applications and the connected Interim Applications and Chamber Summons (if any) stand dismissed / disposed. Parties are free to initiate fresh arbitration proceedings in accordance with law; for limitation, the period from the invocation of the arbitration till the date of this order is excluded; liberty to apply is reserved where an express agreement in writing under the proviso to Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 waives the arbitrator's ineligibility or the right to object under Section 12(5).